Getting Involved in the Social World of Gaming

The gaming sector continues to evolve and become more and more influential in our everyday lives. The top games now rival major blockbusters in terms of their innovative story-telling, iconic characters and most importantly of all, the sheer enjoyment users derive from the material. As the gaming industry progresses, some people still hold on to their tired stereotypes of what they think a gamer is, which is generally a male who is overweight, lazy, single and antisocial. It’s a redundant perception of those who play games and the most ridiculous assumption is that gamers are antisocial, as there are now numerous great examples of games that have fully embraced society to become huge communities for like-minded friends.

All the latest consoles have a community section in one guise or another where you can either link up with a friend you have out in the real world or try to find a new compadre to either compete against or engage in a cooperative mission with. Not all games are the same and generally with shoot-em-ups you’re more likely to make a mortal enemy than a friend, although zombie-shooting titles such as Left4Dead can build great alliances. Any of the now vast arrays of MMO games are a great platform for finding new friends and there tends to be less testosterone or tormenting in a game such as World of Warcraft compared to something like Call of Duty. A game that requires you to build is generally a harmonious environment to make new friends and obviously, Minecraft is the stellar name in this field.

Moving away from consoles, online casinos also offer their members a much-appreciated social function, with chat options to either talk to fellow players or the live dealers, as well as the usual player lounges and forums. Not all games are the same and you’re not likely to make friends with someone when you’re trying to beat them at poker, but something like the William Hill Bingo Site is a good scenario to find a new BFF. Bingo has always been a social game and its reawakening online has added to both the gameplay and the social function of the game. On the William Hill site chat moderators are at hand to organise mini-games and keep the chat friendly. Understandably, we could not fail to mention games that are a part of the social fabric and Facebook games have been colossal in both their appeal and their ability to bring people together. Candy Crush Saga, FarmVille, Words with Friends and Diamond Dash are just a handful of the titanic titles that have swept the world and brought all kinds of different people together in a single gaming pursuit.

If you really want to make friends rather than enemies online there are a few choice rules of thumb to follow that your fellow gamers will recognise the value of. The first of these is don’t pick on the new guy, as bullying is never part of the game and you’ll be better perceived if you actually help the newbie. Not swearing is also generally accepted to be a good thing unless the game specifically states that it is for over 18-year-olds. Insults in the main are not a good idea and even if they start it, trading insults and name-calling will probably just make you both look childish. There have been great gaming taglines, but repetition can be boorish, so don’t keep sending the same tagline over and over again. This is particularly true if you’re asking for something, as begging doesn’t make anyone want to be around you. There are a few other moves that will make you an outcast, but these tend to be specific to the genre of game, so check out the forums to find out people’s bugbears in your game of choice.

There are countless ways games have become a force for good and bringing people together is towards the top of the list. There are vast communities online now just waiting to meet you, so why not get comfortable, find a game that speaks to you and go expand your social circle in the world of gamers.

Billy Goodwin A.K.A Skaidon (my gamertag). As you can probably tell I love gaming. You will more often than not catch me with my headset on yelling online. I also love blogging, especially about the tech industry, hence the birth of the blog ' Skaidon'. Feel free to get in touch with me anytime or if you fancy a challenge add me online using 'Skaidon'.